The invention relates generally to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to a connector system that is capable of mating with several mating connectors.
Known connector systems include several connectors within a connector cage. The connector cage typically is a conductive body that is electrically coupled with an electric ground reference. The connector cage may include ports that are shaped to receive mating connectors. The connectors located in the connector cage are located within the ports such that these connectors mate with the mating connectors when the mating connectors are inserted into the ports. The connector cage may shield the connectors from electromagnetic interference.
Some of these known connector systems provide two or more of the connectors in the connector cage in a vertically stacked arrangement. For example, a pair of the connectors may be disposed above and below one another with the lower connector mounted to a circuit board and the upper connector coupled with the lower connector. By way of example only, the upper and lower connectors may be included in a single, unitary common housing with separate mating interfaces that mate with the mating connectors. The common housing of the connectors can be mounted to a circuit board. The connector cage of the system also may be mounted to the same circuit board.
Typically, the connectors in the cage include contacts that mate with and electrically couple with corresponding contacts of the mating connectors. The contacts of the connectors in the cage may extend from the mating interfaces of the connectors to the circuit board to which the housing of the connectors is mounted. Alternatively, the contacts may be electrically coupled with the circuit board via one or more additional conductive components. In either case, conductive signal paths for the contacts may extend from the mating interfaces of the connectors to the circuit board to electrically couple the mating connectors with the circuit board when the mating connectors mate with the connectors in the connector cage.
The signal paths for the contacts in the upper connector of the connector cage may be significantly longer than the signal paths for the contacts in the lower connector. For example, the distances that data signals must travel through the connectors to the circuit board may be greater for the upper connector than for the lower connector. In connector systems where relatively high data rates are used to communicate data using the connectors, the increased distance that the signals must pass may increase cross-talk in the signals.
A need exists for connector systems that include multiple connectors capable of relatively high speed data communication while reducing cross-talk among or between contacts or signal paths associated with the connectors.